Three Rhine bridges with cathedral tower, Basel, Switzerland
This unused postcard distributed by Hans Frey of Basel, Switzerland, has a photograph of three bridges crossing the Rhine River in Basel with part of the cathedral tower in the foreground. The card has the number 547 printed in the bottom center margin on the reverse.
The third most populated city in Switzerland after Zürich and Geneva, Basel is a city located in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Considered the cultural capital of the country it is famous for its many museums. Basel University, the oldest university in the country, was founded in 1460.
Originally a Catholic cathedral the Basel Minster is a Reformed Protestant church today. Architecturally it is in the Romanesque and Gothic styles and was built between 1019 and 1500. In 1356 an earthquake destroyed the late Romanesque building and it was rebuilt by Johannes Gmünd. The southern tower was completed in 1500 by Hans von Nußdorf. The exterior is red sandstone and the roof has colored tiles. It is one of the main landmarks and tourist attractions in Basel.
The bridge seen closest to the cathedral is called the Middle Bridge and is located on the oldest existing bridge site across the Rhine. In 1903 and 1905 the old bridge was renovated and rebuilt entirely out of stone. At that time, it was named the Middle Rhine Bridge. Prior to that the bridge was called the Rhine Bridge. At the time it acquired the Middle Bridge name it was one of three bridges spanning the river and found between two other bridges. Constructed of granite the bridge is about 630 ft or 192 m long and 59 ft or 18 m wide. In 2002 the bridge was refurbished but no alterations were made to its appearance. As part of the car free city center the bridge has been closed to private motor vehicles since 2017.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel_Minster
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Bridge_Basel
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